Which to use
“varíola” and “viola” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,414
- “varíola” frequency rank
- #5,052
- “viola” frequency rank
- 33466
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | varíola | viola |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | doença contagiosa aguda (oficialmente declarada extinta do planeta na década de 1970), de origem viral, caracterizada por febre, dor no corpo, vômitos e lesões cutâneas | instrumento musical de corda semelhante ao violino levemente maior e afinado uma quinta abaixo |
Where the eye mixes varíola and viola
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. varíola runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against viola's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: varíola vs viola
A purely visual mix-up. varíola (/vɐ.ˈɾi.u.lɐ/) and viola (/ˈvjɔ.lɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
varíola is recorded at frequency rank #28,414, classified as anoun, pronounced /vɐ.ˈɾi.u.lɐ/. viola is at rank #5,052, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvjɔ.lɐ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 33466, this pair ranks #34,053 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of varíola vs viola
Shared letters: alov. Private to "varíola": rí. Private to "viola": i.
"varíola" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "viola" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- viola ← ivola · viloa · vioal · violla · voila · vviola
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "varíola" for "viola" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "varíola" or "viola" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "varíola" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "viola" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,053 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "varíola" and "viola" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "variada vs varíola". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #34,053 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.